Rapper Will.i.am is a technology enthusiast. He wanted to prove that by creating his very own wearable device called the Puls, TechRadar reports.

The Puls is not a smartwatch; rather it is a "smart cuff." Will.i.am's company i.am+ wanted the Puls to be both fashionable and useful. Unfortunately, the device misses the mark on almost everything.

The Puls has a 1.7-inch display that is curved similar to the Samsung Gear S. The Puls is 0.3 inches smaller than Samsung's watch, though.

Right away, users of the Puls will notice the display is just not what it needs to be. The screen is too dim, whether inside or outside.

The design of the Puls is not pleasing. Will.i.am wanted it to be fashionable, but it looks like an ankle bracelet and when the device is off it is hard to figure out which way to put it on.

The smart cuff is light, but bulky. If a user has a small wrist, the Puls probably will not fit.

Additionally, if worn for a long period of time, the Puls gets very warm on a user's wrist. That is rather alarming for something users are supposed to wear all the time.

The features of the Puls are pretty standard: 16 GB of internal storage, 1 GB of RAM, Bluetooth, WiFi and GPS capabilities.

During tests, the touchscreen on the Puls performed very poorly. The screen would lag and all of the sudden refresh without warning. Users are supposed to be able to text from the Puls but that function tested poorly too.

The Puls will not require a smartphone to work, meaning users will be able to leave their phones at home. Only AT&T has decided to carry the device in the U.S. so far.

The Puls does allow calls to be made right from a user's wrist and that feature was tested and it performed well.

Having a nice, uncluttered interface gives the Puls a little brighter future. However, the device does not have any apps yet available, besides those that are built into it. This means either waiting for apps to be released or dealing with the few that are installed.

Wearable devices are meant to have fitness apps, maps and more. According to i.am+, those apps will be coming soon.

Finally, the battery life on the Puls is very short. In a test, it only lasted about five hours. That is unacceptable for a device like this.

Overall, the Puls disappoints. It does not have any apps available for download, yet. The look and feel of the cuff is not something to get excited about and the touchscreen is very glitchy. For $399, this device should not have all of these problems.

Related